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Good morning. 18 years ago today the world watched in shock and disbelief as the horror of the 9/11 terror attack unfolded before our eyes. What followed quickly became known as the ‘war on terror’. The US then led military action through which terrorists were captured or killed but thousands of civilians also died in those conflicts. Many pushed out the ‘clash of civilisations’ theory. Muslims and Islam the world over were under scrutiny like never before. Fear and suspicion were at an all time high. Hate crimes rose. My second child was a baby at the time, oblivious of course to anything that was happening but he became part of what can be described as the post ‘9/11 generation’, never knowing life before that fateful day. I remember listening to so-called ‘experts’ on all sides all wanting to have their say, which wasn’t always helpful. But there were also genuine people from all backgrounds moved by the death of so many innocent people. They wanted to help find answers, to try and navigate what felt like impossible territory, to be part of the solution. In subsequent years we saw our own UK terror attacks in July 2005 and in years after that, particularly the summer of 2017 when terrorism in all its guises reared its ugly head again. I have been fortunate to work with people like Gill Hicks who was badly injured in the July 7th attacks and friends of Jo Cox MP who was murdered in cold blood as an act of far right terrorism, in 2016. Also Jo Berry, whose father Sir Anthony Berry MP was killed by the IRA in 1984, has since been part of inspiring reconciliation work with one of the men found guilty of his murder. They are part of an important network of people who refuse to let terrorism divide us further, recognising that it does not discriminate, that no one wins. The 9/11 attacks were a perverse distortion of Islam. The Qur’an talks about diversity being a blessing. That we are made as nations and tribes to really get to know one another. So today I will pray for and think about the families of the 9/11 attacks and remember how difficult this is for them, to have to remember that terrible day as they relive it all over again. And as I send my son, now 18, off to University next week I feel even more determined and committed to building bridges, to breaking down barriers, to tackling misinformation and prejudice and to making sure that the terrorists don’t win. Our world is too precious to allow that to happen.